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Game Informer insider on Revolution controller...

Wel, it doesn't look like there is a thread on this yet. This sounds bad. Iwata and Miyamotos' collective egos are outta control, they will not survuve unless they get off this contrived art house trip of theirs and make a system that is hospitible AT LEAST the amount of somewhat-healthy 3rd party support they have/had with GC. An almost entirely touch based screen (hey, at least the DS also has a SNES-based control scheme) oughta toss their butts outta the hardware industry real fast. This has Virtual Boy written all over it. Nintendo has said they are tired of "exploring the planet known as video games." Well, keep it up guys, you're well on your way. And this is from a satisfied DS owner. This may also explain why we haven't heard any major Revolution support still. For now, a big grain 'O salt and let's hope like heck it's all because we're getting close to April.

Game Informer: Of course, the final piece to the puzzle that may change the entire landscape for both Microsoft and Sony is Nintendo. However, Nintendo may have to pull a rabbit out of its hat to become a major player in the next generation.

That rabbit, Game Informer has learned, is a touch screen. A source at a major development studio recently revealed to us details regarding Nintendo's development kit for the Revolution and the various guidelines Nintendo is providing to the publishing community regarding its new machine.

The most shocking is that the Revolution uses a touch screen as its controller. There is no analog stick or shoulder buttons. The touch screen on the face of the controller is designed to be fully customizable. So, the developer can configure the buttons any way they see fit, or in other cases not use buttons at all, instead opting for virtual levers or other stylus-related inputs. While an intriguing design idea, it's tough to imagine pressing buttons or directing your onscreen persona without the tactile feedback you get from a standard controller.

This also limits a publisher's ability to simply port games created for the other platforms quickly and easily to the Revolution. In fact, our source states that Nintendo is actually requiring developers to take advantage of unique touch screen aspects if it wants to get approval for release.

There are some exciting gameplay possibilities that this design can fecilitate, namely control panels for flight games, or a wide assortment of customized inputs for specific genres, like the ability to target in an FPS by simply moving your finger across the face of the controller. However, leaving behind the familiar controller layout that gamers have become accustomed to could alienate some of Nintendo's audience.

All other technical data on the Revolution at this time is scarce. So, how the machine will match up against Sony and Microsoft's next generation hardware is difficult to determine. However, in our talks with various publishers, many are skeptical of how well it will fare in the market. Which may once again leave Nintendo supporting its own console, hopefully with unique and compelling games from its always-outstanding first party development studios'

How dare Nintendo try to raise the bar with ports and further the industry with innovation.

Hey, if this thing works well and makes for some great, truly innovative games, good. More power to them. But what's the point if we get some killer 1st party games when they are so bent to innovate they alienate all their 3rd parties and go the way of Sega?

Nintendo should stop with the futuristic toy nonsense and just concentrate on innovating within the games themselves. Metroid Prime is an awesome example of innovating brilliantly tight and intuitive control within a game itself while staying true to the original 8 and 16-bit games. And it didn't need a touch screen or gyro or whatever. Just a normal analog stick with buttons. Imagine that.

Mario Sunshine, love it or hate it is another good example of introducing a unique new game mechanic (the waterpack's many unique uses) without having to rely on contrived out-of-this world control schemes or "exotic" new hardware/controller.

Edit: Maybe they think because of the DS's apparent success that gamer's are ready to play touch/stylus games on their home TV. But most aren't. The DS is a portable which lends itself well to a PDA style set up, a home console is a totally different beast and folks don't want gimmicks, they want nice, clicky and ultra responsive controllers.